This choice: It's your little sister, Tabitha. • Go Back...Chapter #3Your little sister, Tabitha. by: Wassel   "I'm afraid it's your sister, Tabitha..."
"Tabitha...?" you croaked on hearing her name. Your mind suddenly racing with questions. What had happened to her? Was she alright? What complications was the doctor referring to? Putting all of these thoughts to him and more. Needing to know the truth.
Again the two doctors looked at one another. Neither one appearing as if they actually wanted to tell you. Saunders however, eventually forcing a smile. "Don't worry. She's fine. She's resting. It's just that... Well, I'm afraid there's really no delicate way to say this, but she's not exactly how you remember."
"Not how I remember... What does that mean?" Recalling again what the two of them had been talking about previously. What you had dismissed as your drug fueled imagination. "Does it have something to do with what you were talking about before? ...When you mentioned a brain transplant? Did you do that to my sister?"
Looking somewhat embarrassed that you'd actually overheard this, Saunders coughed. "Uhm... Yes, actually. We had to." It being more than obvious that he felt conflicted. "Tabitha's injuries from the accident were just too severe, and her body was..."
"What Dr. Saunders is trying to say," Kerry interrupted, "is that your sister was in critical condition when she arrived here. Short of finding her a new body there really was nothing else we could do. If we hadn't have acted when we did, right now she'd be dead." The doctor talking you through the procedure then, that they'd both supposedly carried out. "You see, although her body was very much close to death, her brain was still in perfect working order. All we had to do was remove a certain part of it... the part that makes up 'Tabitha' if you will... and then attach it to the partially damaged brain of an otherwise healthy, donor body."
No. No this has to be some kind of joke, you told yourself. Not quite believing that this could be true. Brain transplants were the stuff of science fiction, not real life. Shaking your head in denial.
"I know it might sound a little far fetched, but scientists and doctors have been researching brain transplantation for years now. Dr. Saunders and I amongst them," Kerry assured you. Looking rather proud of himself. "And, as far as we can tell, the procedure seems to have been a resounding success. There's no sign of brain injury or nerve damage, and all of Tabitha's synapses appear to be firing correctly. As soon as she wakes up she should have 100% feeling and full motor control of her new body. Isn't that wonderful?"
Wonderful? No, it wasn't wonderful. It was freaking insane! The very idea of your 13 year old sister now being inside somebody else's body being just too bizarre for words. Still being unable to get your head around it. Only knowing that you wanted to see her. You wanted to see what they'd done.
"Where is she?" you asked.
"Well for the moment she's currently in recovery a little further down the hall," Kerry said. Wiping at his glasses. "She has just been through major surgery after all."
"I want to see her. Can you take me to her?"
It was at this point that Saunders stepped back in. Telling you in that calm, soft voice of his, "I'm not so sure that's such a good idea right now, son. You've only just woken up. Perhaps a little later, once you are properly rested."
You didn't want to wait until later though, growing even more anxious to see her now. Practically begging the two doctors then. "Please! Just for a moment. I want to see that she's alright."
Looking to his colleague for guidance, Kerry giving little more than a shrug, the older doctor sighed. Thankfully relenting. "Alright. I guess seeing her for a few minutes won't really do any harm. But just a few minutes mind."
You nodded eagerly at this, agreeing to the terms.
Assisting you out of bed then, the two doctors placed your still half unconscious body into a wheelchair and wheeled you through the door. Saunders explaining while he did about how this was all going to come as quite a shock, and how he didn't want you to get too worked up when you saw her. This little pep talk causing you to become even more apprehensive about what exactly you were going to find... or more accurately, who. Picturing your little sister in your head. All 5 feet of excitable energy, wrapped up in a skinny little, 13 year old blonde headed body. Tabitha having always been equal parts foil, equal parts ally. Having had something of a love/hate relationship growing up. Her obvious and not so subtle crush on your best friend, Randall, having never really helped much with that. Now though, who knows what she'd be. Feeling your sense of dread suddenly increasing ten fold, as you came to a stop in front of another door, behind which Tabitha lay...
"Listen, Tim, before we go inside, " Saunders said, kneeling down so that his eyes were now level with yours, "you should know that, as this was an experimental procedure, there really wasn't many viable donors available to us at the time. We had to take what we could get. And what we got was..."
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